Blushing Prickly Pear

8″ x 10″ oil on linen panel

Mariposa cactus

While I went to a small ranch with a painting group thinking I would be painting horses or goats, it was the blooming prickly pear cactus that captivated me. It was interesting to see the stages of these cactus blooms … bright tangerine orange new blooms fading to light pinks as they ebbed and ending in the development of dark magenta-brown fruit.